# Is there a common food that we think of as colored, but which is naturally white? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 19, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752 "2011-12-19T16:42:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Parthol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dec6dc/32.png) [@Parthol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parthol)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/1 "2011-12-19T16:42:46Z")
Somehow, somewhere along the line, I got it into my head that ketchup was naturally white, and companies added red food coloring to make it look more palatable. But that’s not right, apparently – Google indicates that it’s naturally red. I’m not thinking of margarine, which would be a correct answer. And I \*may \* be thinking of cheddar cheese, but I don’t think that’s it either. I’m pretty certain I’m thinking of a food that comes in a liquid or viscous (e.g. ketchup) form. Anyone have an idea of what I’m talking about? Or am I simply losing my mind? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/2 "2011-12-19T16:56:59Z")
For decades pistachios came dyed red. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/3 "2011-12-19T16:58:31Z")
Prepared mustard (like French’s brand) is not naturally white, exactly… but the yellow color we associate with it is turmeric. Without that, it would be a much paler tan color. Since your original idea was ketchup, that’s the best suggestion I’ve got to offer. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/4 "2011-12-19T17:01:00Z")
Lemonade, at least the pink kind. OK, if you use Grenadine to color it, then it also offsets the sour taste some, but most of the commercial offerings are just food coloring. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/5 "2011-12-19T17:04:50Z")
Sodas. I once had a chocolate cream soda that was water-clear. It was a very peculiar example of cognitive dissonance. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/6 "2011-12-19T17:08:17Z")
Most commercial marmelades, fruit jams are colored. In Sweden, most jams are not allowed to be colored with dyes-so your strawberry jam is kinda grey, not red at all. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/7 "2011-12-19T17:16:00Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Most commercial marmelades, fruit jams are colored. > In Sweden, most jams are not allowed to be colored with dyes-so your strawberry jam is kinda grey, not red at all. Really? That’s very odd to me. I do my own canning, and my jams/jellies are very similar in colouring with the commercial ones though sometimes a bit lighter in tone. My marmalade is more obviously less bright than the store bought but still has the same colours. ---
**Author:** ![Enilno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58f4c7/32.png) [@Enilno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enilno)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/8 "2011-12-19T18:23:24Z")
Maybe the various flavored yogurt? Without food coloring they’d pretty much be white I’m guessing. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/9 "2011-12-19T18:26:35Z")
Cheese. I’m pretty sure that weird orange color of cheddar is added. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/10 "2011-12-19T18:31:57Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Cheese. I’m pretty sure that weird orange color of cheddar is added. Correct. [Annatto](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annatto#Food_coloring) ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/11 "2011-12-19T18:51:10Z")
My understanding (at least from Tillamook factory tour) is that cheddar is not naturally white, necessarily, but a yellowish color that can vary quite a bit depending on various factors. So cheese makers added coloring to even it out and that just became the norm expected by consumers. Don’t know if that is true or just cheese maker urban legend spewed for the tourists (the Wiki page does not mention this). ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/12 "2011-12-19T19:39:33Z")
Mint chocolate chip ice cream and margarine are two white foods that usually have color added to them. At one time the dairy lobby won a law that margarine could not be sold with the food coloring added and it was sold along a bit of yellow food coloring for the customer to mix in at home. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/13 "2011-12-19T19:56:46Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Cheese. I’m pretty sure that weird orange color of cheddar is added. That suprises me, cheddar cheese ranges from slighly off white to a more yellowy tradition cheese colour. In the UK you would assume red-coloured cheddar-like cheese is a red leicester as opposed to a cheddar. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/14 "2011-12-19T20:35:23Z")
> [@Flutterby](#): > > Really? That’s very odd to me. I do my own canning, and my jams/jellies are very similar in colouring with the commercial ones though sometimes a bit lighter in tone. My marmalade is more obviously less bright than the store bought but still has the same colours. Ditto for all the home canned strawberry and raspberry jams and preserves I’ve ever had. My mom, grandmother and various aunts canned preserves for years and they were always the same color as the commercial varieties, without any additives. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/15 "2011-12-19T20:35:43Z")
Farmed Salmon: the fish are fed red food coloring to turn their flesh to the expected, well, salmon hue. (Wild salmon eat crustaceans that provide the color). Otherwise they’d be white like most other fish. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/16 "2011-12-19T20:48:36Z")
Mint ice cream. The green is food coloring. Mint extract isn’t green. ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/17 "2011-12-19T21:04:37Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Most commercial marmelades, fruit jams are colored. > In Sweden, most jams are not allowed to be colored with dyes-so your strawberry jam is kinda grey, not red at all. What the heck do they put in it? Strawberries + sugar + pectin = red. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/18 "2011-12-19T21:17:47Z")
> [@Pixel\_Dent](#): > > What the heck do they put in it? Strawberries + sugar + pectin = red. Cooked strawberries do sometimes turn a sort of dull pinkish-maroon colour - some of this depends on the variety of strawberry - whether it’s one with crimson flesh or whitish pink. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/19 "2011-12-19T21:20:05Z")
Not quite the same, but Maraschino cherries are first bleached white, then colored bright red. > **[Maraschino cherry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maraschino_cherry)** > > A maraschino cherry (/ˌmærəˈskiːnoʊ, -ˈʃiː-/ MARR-ə-SKEE-noh, -⁠SHEE-) is a preserved, sweetened cherry, typically made from light-colored sweet cherries such as the Royal Ann, Rainier, or Gold varieties. In their modern form, the cherries are first preserved in a brine solution usually containing sulfur dioxide and calcium chloride to bleach the fruit, then soaked in a suspension of food coloring (common red food dye is FD&C Red 40), sugar syrup, and other components. > Maraschino cherries are ... ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/20 "2011-12-19T21:45:01Z")
Butter is not naturally yellow- it’s pale, like milk, and only barely yellow-ish in its natural state. Also the pickled ginger you eat with sushi is not naturally pink. It’s dyed with beet juice (or dye). Ginger is white. I believe wasabi is not naturally green, either but don’t kow its natural color. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752.md?page=2)